to think bikers leathers should be a legal requirement just as much as helmets?

[Bogeyface]

There is a reason why, even on the hottest day of the year, you see bikers in sweltering hot leathers. Its because that is all there is between them and the road if they come off their bikes.

But the number of tossers I see on chicken chasers (usually with L Plates, but not always) riding like twats in canvas shoes, shorts and tshirt (and sometimes not even a tshirt).

Do they not want to stay attached to their skin? It turns my stomach when I think of what could happen and while you could say that its their choice (as H does, he says let them kill themselves if they want to), the damage they could do to themselves would be far more traumatic for others to deal with, and would cost the NHS thousands more in treatment.

AIBU? DH says I am.

I was hit by a car whilst on my motorbike last year and if it wasn't for my leathers and armored trousers I'd have lost most of my skin and been permenantly crippled.

YANBU.

But I can't help but think it's a form of natural selection.
You must be pretty fucking stupid to ride in shorts and a t shirt.

I think it refers 2 bikes below 125cc & mopeds. U know ,the ones that sound like a hair dryer & struggle going up hills.
Usually favoured by the teenagers.

Yanbu that people should be wearing leathers. I'm on the fence about making it compulsory for various reasons.

I remember coming back from Donnington all kitted up on a hot day. The wind made it bearable at speed but some bloke zipped past us doing at least 100mph wearing shorts, a cotton shirt and flip flops. We were gobsmacked

YABU I prefer personal choice. Can I suggest you never leave the safety of your beds...it's dangerous out there.
Some of us realise most of the people in little tin boxes are too wound up in their satnav, conversation, phone call, etc..to take notice of what's going on around them and ride accordingly. No amount of leather will protect you from everything, now will hi vis, daytime lights, we have to take responsibility for ourselves as no one else will. I choose not to wear leathers, I always wear a helmet, jacket, gloves and long trousers/jeans but not necessarily protective gear. My life, my choice. Yes, I'm a Biker, yes, I ride everyday and have done for over 20 years. Please worry about your own lives without trying to foist your own choices/views on others.

YANBU. I used to work in community nursing and we had a regular patient we used to see 3 times a week, he had come off his motorbike without leathers over 10 years ago, and we still needed to change his dressings that frequently as all of his skin was a mass of never-healing scar tissue/wounds

I live in the home of the TT Races. The number of people every year that fall off riding a bike without the proper kit & do themselves a serious injury astounds me :( as a side note, the local hospital cancels all routine appts etc for 2 weeks to make sure they have space for the idiots...

YANBU

A friend was in a very nasty bike 70mph accident on Friday (not his fault, was hit by a car on motorway).

Doesn't have to be leathers though - he was wearing textile motorcycle trousers and jacket with built in back protector, shoulder, elbow protectors, etc.

The correct clothing saved his life. By some complete bloody miracle he is battered, bruised and a bit tender but he is still with us and was discharged from hospital today.

I've always got angry about people forgoing protective clothing as soon as the sun shines. Now even more so...

If nothing else, I feel for the emergency services that have to scrape them off the road and put them back together, when with the right gear people can minimise the risk of serious injury (or just nasty gravel rash).

Pretty sure they'd all invest in leathers if they saw for real the results of coming off whilst not wearing them...
YANBU

YANBU. As a teen, I witnessed a man come off his bike at speed. He was not wearing leathers. The sound he made stayed with me for a long time. I stayed around with someone else till the ambulance came.

I've gone all cold recalling it. I still think of that man and wonder. .

YABU - it's impossible to find leathers if you're short and have big boobs...

If my DH had invested in leathers (or been made to wear them as a matter of law) then he wouldn't be an amputee.

You can't legislate for everything. They know the risks and they make their choice. Not wearing leathers doesn't make them a risk to pedestrians or other road users, just to their own skin, so it's up to them really.

I'm with you.
It's only because of Gore Tex and Kevlar that meant DP ended up with broken ribs and not punctured lungs or worse.

& lol at natural selection , I think yes-it's precisely that.

it's their choice but they may want my help if they come off their bike. I am not a trained medical person, but would dash over if they were wearing leathers. If they had bounced off the road leaving half their skin behind I confess I wouldn't be dashing. I would ring 999 from a distance.

ITs their choice but what is the difference between leathers and a helmet? Would you non leather wearers go without a helmet if you didnt have to wear one?

When our Y11s go through the scooter riding stage they often have helmets and short sleeves. I borrow an idea from the late, wonderful Iain Banks and point out that the helmet will keep them conscious so they can feel the skin and flesh peeling away from their bones when they come off....

DH was knocked off his scooter at very low speed - he had an armoured jacket on, but ordinary trousers. His leg was a total mess.

I have a childhood memory of witnessing motorcycle vs car at a junction and seeing the t shirted rider skid across hot Tarmac.

I also remember people running to pull the bike off him as,my dad explained, part if the engine would burn through his leg.

Maybe some would, maybe some wouldn't.

FWIW you don't have to wear a hat on a horse over the age of 12. Some people don't (usually for vanity) but the vast, vast majority do. The prevalent culture in this country is 'wear a hat, or you're an idiot, everyone will think you're an idiot, and if you're thrown from the saddle and spend the rest of your days eating through a straw it will be your bloody fault'.

The difference between leathers and a helmet is that one is a legal requirement and the other isn't. Yes, you could create yet another law and make leathers a legal requirement. Or, you could accept that adults have to take some personal responsibility now and then without being forced by legislation into the safest course of action.

YABU.

Grown adult should be free to make their own choices.

Are you going to make bicycle helmets compulsory too? Are all adult horse riders going to have to wear a hard hat? Should pedestrians wear helmets too, as head injuries are a major cause of death if a pedestrian is hit by a car?

What if I want to wear Kevlar jeans, not leathers? Is that OK in Bogeyworld?

Make your own choices and injure yourself as you wish then.

Do I need your permission?